Oban Hills

Last updated

Coordinates: 5°30′00″N8°35′00″E / 5.5°N 8.58333°E / 5.5; 8.58333

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

Contents

Kwa Falls, along the Great Kwa River in Cross River State, Nigeria Kwafalls.jpg
Kwa Falls, along the Great Kwa River in Cross River State, Nigeria

The Oban Hills are a range of hills in Cross River State, Nigeria. They lie within the Oban Hills Division of the Cross River National Park.

Cross River State State in South South, Nigeria

Cross River is a state in South Nigeria, bordering Cameroon to the east. Its capital is Calabar, and its name is derived from the Cross River (Oyono), which passes through the state. English, French, Bekwarra, Ejagham and Efik are major languages of this state.

Nigeria Federal republic in West Africa

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal republic in West Africa, bordering Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Its coast in the south is located on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The federation comprises 36 states and 1 Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. The constitution defines Nigeria as a democratic secular country.

Cross River National Park

The Cross River National Park is a national park of Nigeria, located in Cross River State, Nigeria. There are two separate sections, Okwangwo and Oban . The park has a total area of about 4,000 km2, most of which consists of primary moist tropical rainforests in the North and Central parts, with mangrove swamps on the coastal zones. Parts of the park belong to the Guinea-Congolian region, with a closed canopy and scattered emergent trees reaching 40 or 50 meters in height.

Geography

The hills are rugged, rising from 100 metres (330 ft) in the river valleys to over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in the mountains. The soils are highly vulnerable to leaching and erosion where stripped of plant cover. The rainy season lasts from March to November, with annual rainfall of over 3,500 mm.

The northern part is drained by the Cross River and its tributaries. The southern parts are drained by the Calabar, Kwa and Korup rivers. [1]

Cross River (Nigeria) river in southeastern Nigeria

Cross River is the main river in southeastern Nigeria and gives its name to Cross River State. It originates in Cameroon, where it takes the name of the Manyu River. Although not long by African standards its catchment has high rainfall and it becomes very wide. Over its last 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the sea its flows through swampy rainforest with numerous creeks and forms an inland delta near its confluence with the Calabar River, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) wide and 50 kilometres (31 mi) long between the cities of Oron on the west bank and Calabar, on the east bank, more than 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the open sea. The delta empties into a broad estuary which it shares with a few smaller rivers. At its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean, the estuary is 24 kilometres (15 mi) wide. The eastern side of the estuary is in the neighbouring country of Cameroon.

Calabar River Place in Cross River State, Nigeria

The Calabar River in Cross River State, Nigeria flows from the north past the city of Calabar, joining the larger Cross River about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the south. The river at Calabar forms a natural harbor deep enough for vessels with a draft of 6 metres (20 ft).

Great Kwa River Waterfall in Cross River, Nigeria

The Great Kwa River flows through Cross River State, Nigeria, draining the east side of the city of Calabar. The river ecology is under threat from human activity.

Land use

The Oban hills, which take their name from the small town of Oban to the south, contain the largest area of unexploited lowland rain forest in Nigeria. [2] It is possible that at one time the region was home to more people, perhaps being depopulated due to its proximity to the slave trading center of Calabar, and that the forest may actually be fairly recent growth. [3] A 1988 report said that the remaining patches of forest on mountainous slopes were being encroached upon for logging and farming. Primates such as Preuss's guenon were being hunted for meat. [4] The Oban Hills Forest Reserve was made a part of the Cross River National Park in 1991. [5]

Related Research Articles

Horton Plains National Park national park

Horton Plains National Park is a protected area in the central highlands of Sri Lanka and is covered by montane grassland and cloud forest. This plateau at an altitude of 2,100–2,300 metres (6,900–7,500 ft) is rich in biodiversity and many species found here are endemic to the region. This region was designated a national park in 1988. It is also a popular tourist destination and is situated 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Ohiya, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the world famous Ohiya Gap/Dondra Watch and 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Nuwara Eliya.

Cross River gorilla subspecies of mammal

The Cross River gorilla is a subspecies of the western gorilla. It was named a new species in 1904 by Paul Matschie, a mammalian taxonomist working at the Humboldt University Zoological Museum in Berlin, but its populations were not systematically surveyed until 1987.

Korup National Park

Korup National Park is in the Southwest Province of Cameroon and extends over 1,260 km2 of mostly undisturbed primary forest. It is reputedly one of Africa’s oldest and richest tropical forests in terms of floral and faunal diversity. It is the most accessible rainforest national park in Cameroon with basic lodging infrastructure and a large network of trails open to visitors. The park is a popular birdwatching destination and famous for primate viewing. Researchers from various disciplines have been conducting biological studies in Korup for over three decades, generating a wealth of information on rainforest ecosystems.

Calabar angwantibo species of mammal

The Calabar angwantibo, also known as the Calabar potto, is a strepsirrhine primate of the family Lorisidae. It shares the genus Arctocebus with the golden angwantibo. It is closely related to the potto and to the various lorises.

Golden angwantibo species of mammal

The golden angwantibo is a strepsirrhine primate of the family Lorisidae. It shares the genus Arctocebus with the Calabar angwantibo and together they are commonly called the golden pottos. The golden angwantibo is found in Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Its usual habitat is rain forest, but it has also been known to live on farmland.

Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests

The Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of west-central Africa. This is lush forest rich in flora and birdlife.

Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park

The Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park is a proposed protected area in Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu India. The park will be an upgrade and expansion of the 736.87 km2(PRO) Palani (Kodaikanal) Wildlife Sanctuary which was to be established in 2008. The park includes about 36% of the 2,068 square kilometres (798 sq mi) in the Palani Hills. The park is located between latitude 10°7' - 10°28' N and longitude 77°16' - 77°46' E. Central location is 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) east northeast of Silver Cascade Waterfall and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) E X NE of Kodaikanal Lake.

Wildlife of Cameroon

The wildlife of Cameroon is composed of its flora and fauna. Bordering Nigeria, it is considered one of the wettest parts of Africa and records Africa's second highest concentration of biodiversity. To preserve its wildlife, Cameroon has more than 20 protected reserves comprising national parks, zoos, forest reserves and sanctuaries. The protected areas were first created in the northern region under the colonial administration in 1932; the first two reserves established were Mozogo Gokoro Reserve and the Bénoué Reserve, which was followed by the Waza Reserve on 24 March 1934. The coverage of reserves was initially about 4 percent of the country's area, rising to 12 percent; the administration proposes to cover 30 percent of the land area.

Northern needle-clawed bushbaby species of mammal

The northern needle-clawed bushbaby is a species of strepsirrhine primate in the family Galagidae. It is found in the coastal region of Cameroon and Nigeria, and on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea in lower-elevation forests that provide its specialized diet of tree gum and resins.

Olive colobus species of mammal

The olive colobus monkey, also known as the green colobus or Van Beneden's colobus, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Its English name refers to its dull olive upperparts. It is the smallest example of all colobine monkeys and is rarely observed in its natural habitat because of its cryptic coloration and secretive nature. It is found in the rain forests of West Africa, ranging from southern Sierra Leone to Nigeria. The olive colobus is classified as near threatened by the IUCN Red List, the cause of its decline attributed to habitat loss and hunting. Though much of the land within the range of the olive colobus has been affected by human activities, it retains its ability to thrive in small degraded forest fragments.

Preusss red colobus species of mammal

Preuss's red colobus is a red colobus primate species endemic to the Cross-Sanaga Rivers ecoregion. An important population occurs in Korup National Park, Southwest Province, Cameroon, but the species' distribution is localized. The species is considered present in adjacent Cross River National Park - Oban Division in Nigeria and hunter reports suggest that few groups remain in Nkwende Hills and Nta Ali Forest Reserve in the broader Korup region. A population is also present in Ebo forest, Littoral Province of Cameroon.

Anjanaharibe-Sud Reserve

Anjanaharibe-Sud Reserve is a wildlife reserve in the north-east of Madagascar. The reserve was designated in 1958 and contains some of the last intact primary rainforest, along with several, rare and endemic animals and plants. The area was nominated to the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in Madagascar in 2008, as an extension of the rainforests of the Atsinanana.

Borneo lowland rain forest ecoregion of Borneo

Borneo lowland rain forest is an ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the large island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It supports approximately 10,000 plant species, 380 bird species and several mammal species. The Borneo lowland rain forest is diminishing due to logging, hunting and conversion to commercial land use. The Borneo lowland rain forest is widely considered the second-oldest rainforest in the world after the Daintree Rainforest in Australia.

Gashaka Gumti National Park national park

Gashaka-Gumti National Park (GGNP) is a national park in Nigeria, It was gazetted from two game reserves in 1991 and is Nigeria’s largest national park. It is located in the eastern provinces of Taraba and Adamawa to the border with Cameroon. The total area covers about 6,402 km2, much of the northern GGNP is savannah grassland, while the southern GGNP sector of the park has a rugged terrain characterized by very mountainous, steep slopes as well as deep valleys and gorges, and is home to montane forests. Altitude ranges from ranging from about 457 metres (1,499 ft) in the northern flatter corner of the park, up to 2,419 metres (7,936 ft) at Chappal Waddi, Nigeria’s highest mountain in the park's southern sections. It is an important water catchment area for the Benue River. There is abundant river flow even during the markedly dry season. Enclaves for local Fulani pastoralists exist within the park boundary that allow for farming and grazing.

Douala Edéa Wildlife Reserve wildlife reserve

The Douala-Edéa National Park, formerly known as the Douala-Edéa Wildlife Reserve, is a national park in the Littoral Region of Cameroon. It is located on either side of the mouth of the Sanaga River along the shores of the Bight of Biafra opposite the island of Bioko.

Southwest Amazon moist forests

The Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) is an ecoregion located in the Upper Amazon basin.

Kahuzi-Biéga National Park national park

The Kahuzi-Biega National Park is a protected area near Bukavu town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated near the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border. Established in 1970 by the Belgian photographer and conservationist Adrien Deschryver, the park is named after two dormant volcanoes, Mount Kahuzi and Mount Biega, which are within its limits. With an area of 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi), Kahuzi-Biega is one of the biggest national parks in the country. Set in both mountainous and lowland terrain, it is one of the last refuges of the rare species of Eastern lowland gorilla, an endangered category under the IUCN Red List. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1980 for its unique biodiversity of rainforest habitat and its eastern lowland gorillas.

References

  1. Important Bird Areas.
  2. Oates 1999, pp. 133.
  3. Oates 1999, pp. 134.
  4. Lee 1988.
  5. Oates 1999, pp. 24.

Sources

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.